WCVE

Credits

Captures by
Alden's Logo and Public Television Vault, PaulBlartfan2018 and TheIridiumic138

Background

WCVE (currently called VPM or Virginia Public Media) is the primary PBS station in Richmond, Virginia. It was launched in 1964, and opened a sister station, WCVY, in 1967. In 1989, both were rebranded under "Central Virginia's Public TV", then in 2001, were rebranded under "Community Idea Stations". It returned to it's callsign in 2007, and then was rebranded to "VPM" in August 2019.

1st Logo (1976?-1981)

Logo: On a black background, a red "WCVE" slides in from the left side of the screen. A yellow copy slide is as well and overlaps it, and this is repeated 2 more times with a red one going behind it, the yellow one fading out, and then a 2nd yellow copy sliding in. "RICHMOND," then fades in below, and a yellow flash appears, leaving "VA." when it dies down.

Variants:

• A shortened variant exists.
• A filmed variant also exists.

FX/SFX: The sliding, the fading of the text and "VA." flashing.

Music/Sounds: A repeating 2-note synth ring that ascends in scale.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on Don Reno and The Tennessee Cut-Ups, Live From Richmond, and other local programming. The filmed version was seen on TV: For Better Or For Worse.

2nd Logo (1981-1982)

Logo: On a black background, a light blue rectangle with a fuzzy yellow outline expands outwards and rotates towards the screen. As it fills it up, a fuzzy pink outline appears and expands outwards, revealing a black rectangle rotating as well before stopping horizontally. When it stops, the text "WCVE" appear in white, along with "A PRODUCTION OF" and "RICHMOND, VIRGINIA" on the top and bottom respectively in yellow. After a few seconds, the frame begins to thicken and expand, eventually forming a pink "tunnel" extending in a semi-3D manner.

FX/SFX: The rectangles spinning in, the text fading in, and the outline thickening. All scanimation and computer graphics.

Music/Sounds: A longer, slower, and deeper version of the KVIE/WJCT tune at the time.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen on From Our Archives, Vietnam War: American Experience, and Living History Makers, among other local programming.

3rd Logo (1982?-1989)

Logo: On a black background, a outline of a bald eagle appears and starts flying, changing colors throughout and leaving afterimages as it moves. In the background, a crescent-shaped comet appears in the bottom left and then flies towards the center of the screen, causing a faintly seen blue "23" to appear in the background, crooked at an angle and in a strange blue font. It starts to zooms in, tilting to a upright angle, as the bald eagle begins to swoop to the left and prepares for a landing. As it lands, the "23" makes contact with it and the eagle's head flashes, turning it white. It also makes the "23" come into full focus and the rest of the bald eagle outline to disappear, and then a white outline surrounds itself in the logo. The text "wcve" in a white Cooper Black-like font, wipes in below the logo as that pings 3 times.

Variants:

• Sometimes, text fades in below the logo, either the yellow "Special Presentation" or the pink "Holiday Presentation" in the same font as "wcve".
• The closing variant has the text "WCVE Richmond, Va." in a completely different font, as well as having a copyright for it's parent company, Central Virginia Educational Telecommunications Corporation.

FX/SFX: The rectangles spinning in, the text fading in, and the outline thickening. All scanimation and computer graphics.

Music/Sounds: A bouncy synth tune with a final, held note at the end. An announcer then says either of these 2 things:

• "A special presentation of WCVE." (Special Presentation variant)
• "A production of WCVE." (Closing variant)

Availability: Very rare. Can be seen on Constitution Controversies and a orchestral program where it's plastered over the KCET logo, among others.

4th Logo (1989-2001)

Logo: In a area filled with black, blue, and red clouds, a silver acute triangle showing off reflections of these colors zooms out, tilted upwards as droplet rings disperse out all over the triangle. The triangle then tilts backwards and zooms out, swerving a bit before settling to the right of the screen, with the rings forming several ripples from the bottom to the top tip of the triangle. These form 3 circles inside of each other, carved straight into the triangle, as "A Production Of Central Virginia's Public TV" appearing in the upper left corner and the ripples all disappear.

Variants:

• When used as a local ident, the text lacks "A Production Of", is bigger, and in a different font, as well as the 2 station's callsigns below. Sometimes, their repeater stations are shown instead of the other text.

FX/SFX: The rectangles spinning in, the text fading in, and the outline thickening. All scanimation and computer graphics.

Music/Sounds: The production variant is silent barring an announcer saying "The following is a production of Central Virginia's Public Broadcasting.

Availability: Rare. The production variant has been seen on a reprint of Adolf Hitler from 1978.

Editor's Note: Really impressive animation for a PBS station.